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Hidden Flower
Hi! Part I Prologue It was moonhigh. Greypaw was the only one to notice something strange about it. She glanced at the red moon, reflecting in her pale blue eyes. "Hailpaw..." she meowed to the small cat sitting next to her, "I think we should tell Stonesplash. What do you think it means?" "I'm not a medicine cat," Hailpaw replied dryly, making it blatantly obvious he didn't want to do anything but sleep. Greypaw looked at the moon again. "Look... Hailpaw..." Her friend turned over, away from her. Greypaw padded out of the den, walking slowly towards the back of the camp where Stonesplash slept. Much to her surprise, Stonesplash was wide awake. "Could you sleep?" Stonesplash murmured. "Is something hurting? Are you sick?" "No... it's not that." Greypaw twisted her tail self-conciously. How would she start this conversation? Hello, Stonesplash, I'm up in the dead of night because I saw the moon looked red. Slowly, she straightened herself and told Stonesplash what she'd seen. "You saw the blood moon..." It wasn't a question. "What's a blood moon?" Greypaw queried. Probably something she didn't want to know anything about, but she couldn't resist asking. "Something terrible is going to happen, Greypaw. Something terrible will happen to our Clan." Greypaw's eyes widened in fear. As she padded back to her nest, the blood moon seemed to reflect in every puddle she passed. All night, she floated in and out of gauzy visions of blood, death, and the moon that would, according to Stonesplash, cause something terrible. She could only wish she knew. Chapter I It was half moon aftr the Blood Moon, and still, nothing terrible. Greypaw was begining to think that medicine cats were just stuck on superstitions and whatnot. Two litters of kits ha been born since she saw the moon, giving 5-and-a-half-almost-6-moon-old litters some company. Snow filled the camp, forbidding them to go outside. Graypaw stretched, her claws sinking into the hard ground. "Graypaw! Border patrol!" Greypaw turned at the sound of her mentor. She followed. Was she the only one who liked the cold? She sprinted over to Littletail, her long legs making it easy for her to run across the snow. "I'd rather go on a hunting patrol. No one's ever on the border anyway." "Graypaw..." Greypaw would rather argue to get what she wanted, but she didn't have the strength to. Sighing, she padded towards Littletail. Asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission. Chapter II Greypaw stalked around the border, looking for more patrols. Their territory ended at the river that separated them from LeafClan. She noticed some cats across the border walking around the tall trees. She grimaced, seeing one of them was Flamepaw. The LeafClan cats sprinted up to the border. Chill out... I'm not even on your territory. The three of them split up. Flamepaw, however, stayed rooted to the spot across from Greypaw. "Can I... help you?" she asked casually trying not to look so tense. "Make one move on our territory and I'll claw your ears." "Uh-huh. Go make yourself useful and check your own pelt for ticks." Flamepaw rolled his eyes. "Does everything have to be this difficult with you?" "Yes." Flamepaw rolled his eyes again. Greypaw narrowed hers. "What. Do. You. Want." She spoke each word clearly and slowly, as if talking to a cat who didn't understand the four simple words. Flamepaw fits that definition perfectly. "Nothing in particular. Can't I just guard my border? You're so cold." Greypaw glared at him. "Actually I'm kind of warm right now, thank-you very much." "I meant --" "I know what you mean." They stared at each other for a long time. "What exactly is the point of this?" she asked irritably. "I wanted to ask you if you saw something weird about a half moon ago." "What?" "Something weird. About the moon." Greypaw's eyes widened. "Yeah. How did you know?" Chapter III "The medicine cats talked about it. I told our medicine cat. What did yours say?" "Our medicine cat said it meant something terrible for our Clan," Greypaw meowed. "Same. They all went to the Moonpool the other day. All five of the Clan medicine cats. And apparently, yours brought it up... they came back and asked me all sorts of questions, and then they told me all this stuff about Blood Moons." Greypaw narrowed her eyes, feeling like she needed something to scold him for. Twisting her tail, a common habit for her when she was nervous, she spoke, tryng to keep her voice under control. "Look. I don't believe this. Nothing the medicine cats ever say make any sense," she said, trying to make herself feel like she was talking to him instead of trying to console herself. "I don't believe it. Now I have to go. Bye." Without another word, she ducked her head and ran off, back to the camp. "Where were you?" Littletail asked. "I was looking for you. We split up." She braced herself. Here comes the hurricane. "Okay," Littletail meowed. "Just try to stay with us in the future." Greypaw's jaw dropped open. "Oh... heheh. Okay!" she meowed, politely dipping her head and stalking off. If they give you the chance to get away with something, don't try to point out that you did something wrong. Chapter IV "Hiddenkit... please step forward." The young, mottled gray tom stepped forward to the Rock, where Froststar awaited him to give him his apprentice name. "Hiddenkit... from this moment on, you will be known as Hiddenpaw," Froststar announced, looking down at the large kit - er... apprentice- with pride shining in his eyes. "I trust you will be a fine apprentice for the Clan. Stonedrop will be your mentor. He is a skilled cat who I would like to see pass his skills onto you." Stonedrop, a relatively new warrior in the Clan, practically glowed with astonishment and delight. He rushed over and bent to touch noses with his new apprentice. "I will do the best I can, Hiddenpaw," he vowed, locking eyes with the kit. "Grasskit, step forward please," Froststar called. Grasskit padded up to him, her emotions shifting from nervousness to apprehension, to a fierce excitement she refused to let overwhelm her. "Grasskit... from this moment until you take on a warrior name, you will be called Grasspaw. Waterspring. Please educate Grasspaw to the best of your abilities. I hope she will someday take on an apprentice of her own." Waterspring nodded. Graypaw grinned as she remembered Froststar's words to Littletail when he took her on. Work her hard. This one's a fighter, and we can't have her take over the Clan too quickly. She straightened and then looked back towards the rock. Sandykit and Runningkit became Sandypaw and Runningpaw. The cats dispersed, and the new apprentices wandered up to Graypaw. Sandypaw spoke first. "Can you show us our den?" she asked. "Yeah, mate," Graypaw replied. "Come on." She led the four to the apprentices' den, a large, sturdy rock pile. With an opening. "This is it. My nest is the one in the corner on the left, Hailpaw's is in the corner on the right, and yours are the four in the middle. Have fun fighting over the biggest one!" She stepped outside, satisfied as the new arrivals began to squabble over the nest next to Hailpaw's, which she had deliberately made the roomiest. If you can't please anyone else, please yourself. Chapter V Speaking of Hailpaw, he appeared suddenly from the other side of the den. He peered into it, then ducked back out almost immediately. "Wow... quite a catfight in there. What did you ask them to do? See who was the best fighter?" he asked, a glint in his eye suggesting he was joking. "Uh... no... not necessarily. Not directly, at least," Greypaw grinned, biting her lip to keep from laughing. "You're really good with younger cats," Hailpaw said admiringly. "They really look up to you." "Oh, no. Heh. Truth is, I'm horrible with kits and the like." "Well, I wouldn't know it." Hailpaw sat down. "Want to share tongues?" Greypaw lay down next to him, her answer silent yet obvious. "We'll be warriors soon. Only another week. It'll be great, won't it?" Hailpaw meowed brightly. "Mm... yeah," Graypaw commented idly. She licked Hailpaw between the ears, and he closed his eyes. She felt like falling asleep next to him. "Let's go inside. It's getting late." He got up and followed her inside the den. The new warriors were all asleep. The balls of energy that had more electricity in them than lightning... all asleep in their chosen nests. "Look who got the big one," Hailpaw grinned. Sandykit, the definite smallest of the four, had claimed the huge nest as hers. Hiddenkit squeezed himself into the smallest nest. "We'll have to right that in the morning," Greypaw sighed. "Goodnight Hailpaw." "Night Graypaw." Part II Chapter VI "Greypaw! Get out here!" Greypaw dropped the shrew to the floor instantly. "What is it?" she called back. "We need you! On the front lines for a battle!" Littletail yowled back. "Come on!" Greypaw rushed out of the den, hastily grooming her chest. She skidded to a halt in front of Littletail, who was organizing warriors. "Stonedrop, you and Hiddenpaw here... Flashstep, you and Sandypaw here... Graypaw! Stand right there and don't move!" Graypaw stood in the spot assigned and didn't move. Seriously? The point? We're all going to be spread out anyway when we fight! Oh well. I guess anything can be figured out or explained. I just have to ignore it, and it'll blow over. Greypaw walked out of the camp with the other warriors, shivering in the cold morning air. Her breath billowed out in steamy puffs as the group took another direction. "Aren't we... going to FireClan?" she asked, looking past MistClan's many rock piles, circles, and other strange rock formations at the huge FireClan volcano off to the distance. "We have a dispute to settle -- with LeafClan," Froststar meowed grimly. "Follow me." They reached the border, only to find the LeafClan cats were already waiting for them. Greypaw spotted Flamepaw in the ranks and growled. "This doesn't look like a border patrol," Dawnstar said smoothly. "I see the weak MistClan warriors want something to practice with? Maybe practice getting fatally wounded..." "Dawnstar, we're not here to fight with our tongues... unless you'd like me to tear yours out for you." Froststar's statement hung in the cold air. Even Dawnstar was too shocked to hear his words, but a look of cold contempt suddenly spread across her face. "Very well," she said, snow falling from her words. "You want a battle with LeafClan? You get a battle." "We weren't the ones who wanted this battle," Froststar meowed. "It was you. Our Clans have always been tense, but this is the last straw. Your cats have been crossing my territory." Littletail pointed a hooked claw towards Flamepaw. Greypaw's eyes widened with shock and anger. Dawnstar flew at Froststar, gripping him with unsheathed claws. Up and down, the cats began to find opponents and fight in a ripping, slashing fight. Graypaw found Flamepaw on top of Sandypaw. "Get off her!" she beat at him with sheathed paws, but hard blows to his ear. "Get away before I shred your face off!" She whirled around and felt herself facing a huge, battle-scarred tom. "Let's see if your claws are as sharp as your tongue." He let out a piercing yowl, jumping towards her with claws glinting in the sunlight. She was ready, ducking, but he managed to land a series of blows on her side. She yowled with pain and frustration. She looked back towards her Clanmates, but they were all locked in their own skirmishes. If I don't look out for myself, no one else will. She threw herself back at the tom, bringing her unsheathed paw down hard on his head. He shook her off dazedly, His eyes spinning, and a cut over his left one. "Let me go -- I'm already half-beat -- I need to go back --" All or nothing, half is half. She landed another blow, deepening the cut and sending him reeling off in pain towards the camp. Again, Flamepaw was running towards her. She threw him away, pinning him down, and then got off him. He ran away again, but his pace was slow, seeing the two leaders fight. Satisfied, she looked out at the others. They were all holding their own. No need to jump into a fight. Her gaze snapped to Froststar, who had pinned Dawnstar down. "This battle is over," he said, letting her up. Dawnstar hissed and rushed back to her Clan, her warriors retreating with her. Froststar nodded and began to pad back to camp. Greypaw and the others followed him. Chapter VII Hailstar licked her wounds. "Maybe you should see a medicine --" "--cat? No, it's just a small scratch, It'll heal." Greypaw looked outside the den. "I'm going to sleep." "Greypaw," someone whispered from the darkness. "What? What's going on?" Graypaw asked. She felt like she was being lifted up through the darkness. "Graypaw... the full moon is coming." "Who's there? A StarClan cat?" Dark gray fur rose on the back of her neck. "Yes; I am from StarClan, Greypaw. My name is Grassflower." "Grassflower," Greypaw murmured. "I come with a warning; it has been almost a moon since you saw the dreaded Blood Moon. If you take caution and do what is right, more than one life can be saved. You'll think you had saved the wrong life, if one is saved and one is killed, but all lives are the right ones to save; unfortunetly, not all of them are good." "Go now, Greypaw. I will be with you." "Go." Greypaw nodded and awoke to the silence of the camp. '' "Hailpaw?" she gently nudged her denmate. The blazing sun was harsh as she looked out. "I guess the battle really tired me out. I fell asleep." He sat stonily at the mouth of their den. "Hailpaw?" Hailpaw turned and faced her, his face grim. "Greypaw... today, Waterspring was killed." Chapter VIII "WHAT?" Greypaw's eyes widened. "She was. She was wounded so badly. She told Froststar, and Stonesplash did all she could." Hailpaw's face was contorted with emotion. Half frustration, half rage. "You know what's coming now. Another battle." They looked across the clearing at Sandypaw, Greypaw's devastated denmate. "Who will mentor her now?" Graypaw asked. "Dustyjaw, I think; he's a good warrior." "Yeah. I just can't believe it." "You think I can?" Hailpaw sighed. "I can't either." Chapter IX "A LeafClan warrior killed her," Froststar announced from the Rock. "Therefore, we have a reason to swear a vendetta against them. Another battle will take place soon; and for another battle to happen, two strong cats must be made into warriors. Greypaw and Hailpaw, please step forward." Greypaw padded nervousy towards the rock. She sat down at the Clan leader's side. Hailpaw sat next to her. "These two cats have proved themselves time and again as worthy MistClan warriors." Greypaw's heart plummeted into her stomach. She swallowed. "Greypaw... please step forward." She stepped forward, closing her eyes. ''It's ok... everything is going to be ok... "Graypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan with your life?" Don't let your voice crack. "I do," she answered almost immeadiately in a clear, strong voice. "Then from now on, you will be known as Greysky. I hope you go far with your talents, and have the integrity to make a warrior's decision." Greysky nodded. She touched noses with Froststar, and then turned to face her Clan. Pride swelled up inside her, and then threatened to explode from her when she saw her mentor. She could hardly feel her paws on the ground anymore. I'm a warrior now! She watched Hailpaw become Hailtail, and laughed along with the rest of the Clan at his chosen name. She and Hailtail stood together. She was already feeling bigger than the warriors below. But she felt some emotion mingling with it all, and killing the excited emotions one by one. My dream yesterday... "When's the next full moon?" she asked Hailtail. "I think it's a week from now. Won't it be exciting? My first Gathering as a warrior!" "Real exciting," Greysky meowed, trying to force enthusiasm into her statement. "Is something bothering you?" "No... I... no." Chapter X "Hey Greypaw," Flamepaw greeted her from across the border. Greysky was too busy ignoring him to correct him. She was on another border patrol, much to her dismay. After begging to go patrol FlameClan (which turned out to be a bust) she dragged herself along to LeafClan. She looked again at the stuck up bright ginger tom, again surprised at how he was LeafClan and not FlameClan. His pelt matched the stream of lava flowing down from the FlameClan rocks. "Go soak your head," she muttered, breaking her vow of silence against him. He laughed. "I'm Flameclaw now," he told her smugly. Greysky wished a chunk of hail would fall on his head. Pulling herself together, she took a deep breath and tried to keep her emotions under control. The sleet and snow falling on the Clans matched her mood. "That's wonderful," she said dryly, trying to make it evident that she didn't care. "Thanks," Flameclaw boasted, not taking the hint. "When will you be a warrior, Greypaw?" Greypaw wished a tree would fall on his head. "It's actually GreySKY now," she growled, putting emphasis on the last syllable of her name. "Oh, sorry," Flameclaw said, and much to Greysky's surprise, he did look apologetic. Almost. "Our Clans are going to fight again. You killed one of our warriors," she said darkly, unsheathing her claws. "I know. Do you think it has anything to do with that moon?" "Hah! No way. The medicine cats are hooked on spreading terror throughout the Clans. I'm surprised Sandypaw's not a medicine cat. She loves attention more than anything." "I'm not so sure," Flameclaw sighed. "Well, that's what I'm thinking. So go ahead and think what you like." Greysky pointedly turned her back on him. She would never give him the satisfaction of being right. He did have a point. Greysky knew it wasn't all rubbish, what the medicine cats said. Once or twice, it was even true. Never be too quick to trust anyone. Her mind raced. Anyway, why should I trust them? We'll be battling them again in a few days. And then... the full moon. NO. No, there is no such thing. Forget the moon. Forget it! I said FORGET IT! SHUT. UP. Greysky forced herself to stop thinking about all the things that might happen on the full moon. Which she was finding, as every minute ticked by, easier and easier to believe. Something terrible is going to happen. Maybe... it could mean the upcoming battle with LeafClan. Chapter XI No way. It couldn't possibly mean the battle. Battles were battles. Part of Clan life. There was nothing terrible about them -- sure, no cat liked to have them, unless the cat was a crazed lunatic who loved rushing into battle just to give their claws a stretch. But they just happened. All the time. Minor, but yeah, battles. Even once at the Gathering, but that was long before Greysky was born. Greysky contemplated other possibilities. Storm? Unlikely... unless it's a snowstorm. Battle? NO. Fallen tree? Nah... probably not. Battle -- STOP. THINKING. ABOUT. BATTLES. Unfortunetly, she couldn't stop. Not when she got to camp, and saw that Froststar was discussing the battle with LeafClan on the eve of the full moon. A week from now. "We'll fight again tomorrow... if that doesn't work... we'll have to retreat. We'll strike again the night before the full moon. We must avenge Waterspring's death." No... no... don't you realize this battle could cause something terrible for us? Waterspring died a noble, warrior's death. Why does it have to be this way? Why do I have so many questions? She thought up another one right before going to sleep. What do you think LeafClan... wants? Chapter XII "It's time," Froststar announced. "We must go, and fight with LeafClan." Greysky shuffled forward with her patrol. It seemed like some of the warriors had been intentionally avoiding her. Maybe it was her coldness, not just peltwise, but feeling. Dreading the days that would come, angry... not exactly angry, but snapping at remarks... She felt like her life was getting harder, having to keep this all between herself and an annoying LeafClan furball. And Stonesplash, who wasn't really helping anything. Once in a while, she would toss out an anxious comment or two about the moon, whenever she saw Greysky. Other times, she was just too busy treating battle wounds to say anything. She advanced with her patrol towards the border. No LeafClan warriors were waiting for them. Wind drifted towards them. She sniffed it and whirled around. "The warriors are inside our territory!" she yowled. The rest of the patrol spun around, realizing she was right. The LeafClan warriors, on being discovered, figured there was no better choice than to launch themselves into a fight. They were easily outnumbered, but Greysky expected more cats to come. They sent the wounded patrol that had invaded back to their Clan. Greysky heard Froststar musing to himself while they walked back. "That was a good battle strategy... if only the wind was blowing towards them." Greysky sighed. Here comes another battle. Chapter XIII "Move over, will you?" Hailtail shifted himself so that he could fit in the small space. "Really, Greysky. I miss my old nest." "Yeah, well you might get your wish and sleep in there again if the warriors' den gets any more crowded," Greysky snapped. Realizing her tone, she swallowed and apologized. "I'm sorry, Hailtail." Pause. "It's okay. I know how you feel." "Hah. No you don't. Hailtail... has there ever been anything you've had to keep all to yourself? Something you really want to tell someone, but you would be risking something big?" "Like the time I snuck off and ate the biggest mouse off the fresh kill pile when I was a kit? The one Froststar wanted?" They both burst out laughing, only to be quieted by the rising yowls of sleeping warriors. "New warriors, always thinking they can do what they want like they OWN the den!" one she-cat growled. Sounds of shifting bodies and crackling bracken filled the stone den. Then silence again. Greysky stared at her friend for a long time. Her best friend. He had never wronged her. Always been there, and she had tried to be just as loyal. So for the first time in her life, she curled up next to him and closed her eyes. And purred alongside him. Purred herself to sleep for the first time in a long time. Purred because the only place she was truly happy was right next to him. Purred because it gave her something else to think about. Something maybe even more important than the upcoming phase of the moon. Part III Chapter XIV Not much happened between then and the next battle. Hiddenpaw and Sandypaw went on their first border patrol to LeafClan. I spent a few days doing apprentice duties after I had a fight with Flamepaw across the border which everyone but Littletail thinks I started. I didn't really do much more with Hailpaw. Greysky felt tense. It was two days before the Gathering. She kneaded her paws in the hard ground. "You're off apprentice duties," Littletail purred. "Yeah," Greysky sighed. "I didn't do it, you know." "I know, Greysky. Want to come on a patrol with us? To FlameClan this time?" Greysky's eyes widened. "Okay!" Since when did my former mentor care about which border I went on a patrol to? He had never done this before. "Did I do something?" she asked on the way down. He shook his head. "We can't have you too riled up before the battle. That Flameclaw cat looks... I don't know. He's not good for you." That's for damn sure. "Yeah," she said. Seeing the patrol up ahead, she broke into a run to catch up with them. "Greysky!" Stonedrop greeted her enthusiastically, Hiddenpaw standing at his side. She greeted them and looked out towards the lava streams. "FlameClan have such great territory," she meowed to Sandypaw, who agreed. "It doesn't matter, ours is the best," Hiddenpaw meowed confidently. Greysky rolled her eyes. All the apprentices act like they're all that in the first month. She walked back along the border again. Great. What now? Battle tomorrow. Wah-hoo, something terrible's prophecized. I wanna scream at everyone. "Littletail, can I go back to camp?" she asked. Looking puzzled, her mentor dismissied her query with a flick of his tail, motioning her to go. Thank StarClan. Greysky walked back to her den to sit alone in her little ball of emotions. They swirled up in her like smoke columns and ricocheted around in her stomach. Frustration hit confusion, confusion rammed into exhaustion, and finally, all three teamed up and built up a terrible rage inside her she'd never felt before. One thought played over and over in her head. Why me? Why ME? Why ME? Whyme,whyme,why am ''I the one who has to do this? Why ME?'' Chapter XV Greysky blinked the last grains of sleep from her eyes. Suddenly she sat bolt upright. Crap. Today is the day of the battle! Ohnoohnoohnoohno... she rushed out of the den. A lot of the cats were already up, flexing their claws and shaking out their pelts. Hailtail caught her eye and smiled, and she managed to smile back. Then she turned to see Hiddenpaw fluffing up his fur in an attempt to look even bigger. Yeah, even bigger. What's he trying to do, take up the whole camp? She raced down the slope. We cannot have a battle. "We're having a battle. We're setting up a sneak attack, by the border," Hailtail filled her in when she approached him. Category:Fanfiction Category:Stormy's Fanfics